An Unintended Side Effect
by ImTheSnarkKnight
Summary: Rileigh Ingrid Patterson just wanted to help her only friend create a believable occult video. Now shes a suspect in the Kira case and paranoia is high. Friendships are tested, lives are lost, and the things we write off turn out to be what we should believe in most of all. Probably eventual LxOC. No character bashing or glorifying. Please comment or review, it'll make my day.
1. And So A Occult Film is Made

**Authors note: **Hello everyone and welcome to my millionth attempt to actually create a fanfiction. I tend to write these and never upload them because of nerves but hey its 2 in the morning and I'm feeling kinda good for once so lets see how this goes. This will most likely end up being LxOC so if you don't like it you have been warned.**  
**

So yeah **Comments, Favorites, and Follows are all appreciate****d.**

I hope you enjoy this stupid idea I had as much as I enjoyed entertaining the thought.**.**

* * *

"Ohmygosh Rileigh its been too long!" Misa squealed excitedly as she latched onto my middle. Ah the joys of being tall. I simply smiled and patted her on her head before waving at Old Lady Yukiko, staring at us in horror, who then in turn rolled her eyes and returned indoors. Misa detached herself and beamed up at me with an odd amount of happiness that I hadn't seen or heard of in awhile.

"Yeah, well, its only been a month Misa its not like you missed much" I replied sluggishly. Seriously she had been in and out of Kyoto for a few weeks now thanks to the whole modeling thing and her last trip had only been a few days. No where near as long as some of them have been. Unfortunately her job and my school schedules just didn't seem to like each other, or my theory was that the government was just secretly trying to ruin my life, and just didn't match up for the past month or so. Thankfully for me though nor even the government could stop some kid accidentally spilling a bunch of chemicals and causing a school wide evacuation which ended up giving me two days off. Small miracles.

"I know! But still so much has happened for me that I thought maybe something would of happened with you." She said, her voice heavily hinting at the fact that she wanted to talk about her important news.

Which was fine especially since I had none.

"Right, right, well lets have the wonderful heartfelt moments inside where its not raining and stuff" I mumbled as I pulled away and gestured to the inside of the house with a long sweeping arm movement.

She smiled sheepishly at me before bounding into my small studio apartment. I simply sighed before following her in and closing the door behind me. At least Misa was in a good mood this time. After her parents died she had been so down and she just never seemed to fully recover from the whole ordeal. This was the spunkiest I've seen her in years to be frank. Following her into the everything room (it's a three hundred square foot apartment, you learn to do everything in one small room) I sat down on my futon as she fretted around the room commenting on how small my place is and how I should see her new place she has being set up in Tokyo.

Thats probably what she wanted to talk about.

"Whats this about an apartment in Tokyo?" I interrupted.

She paused then grinned, turning to face me with child like excitement.

"Yeah, I'm moving! Didn't I tell you my manager got me a job in Tokyo?! It's going to be my big break I can just feel it!" She babbled

I found myself smiling at her enthusiasm.

"That's great Misa," I paused before figuring it out, "is that why you wanted to come over? Like a sort of going away party?"

"Kind of. After all you do owe me for the amazing party I threw you before you moved here" she said with a sly smile

She had me there. The going away party she threw me while we were both living in America was insane. I didn't know anyone there and I don't even want to know how she managed to put together a party like that in only a few weeks. It was a night to be remembered, which I unfortunately don't due to the alcohol being served. Good times though. Probably.

"Plus," Misa added, "I wanted to do a prank"

"A prank?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the side.

Misa nodded quickly,

"Yeah! You see my friend Sakura works at this TV station in Tokyo and I wanted to make a couple of really lame ghost tapes to send to her so they can air them on the station. They cover a lot of dumb stuff like that."

I scoff slightly. Dumb? Ghosts could exist! Really! But I let it slide. Misa always said I had a "magical" way of thinking, her way of telling me that I was crazy. Not like she was the first one to tell me this but still they will all be wrong when the ghosts attack or when the zombie apocalypse happens and no one is prepared but me.

"So you want to make a bunch of tapes by tomorrow?"

She nodded again and I sighed

"Well I hope you already have the video footage. Let me go get out my mic and teach you to distort the audio" I relented.

She squealed in delight, thanking me profusely. I just rolled my eyes and gathered up all the equipment laying about. Being a tech nerd defiantly had its advantages, knowing how to make good occult voice overs and videos probably shouldn't be something I did with my skills but hey the unknowing masses had to learn somehow. Returning to Misa, arms full, I gently set down my mic and external audio distorter and started plugging them into my computer explaining to Misa as I went.

"The mic is easy to use, this type isn't fancy or anything so all you have to do is plug it into the mic jack." I said, holding up my laptop and tapping the jack so she could see where it plugged in. Misa nodded and so I continued.

"The vocal distorter isn't hard to use either. This one," I held up my external one, "I made myself but you could probably buy one pretty cheap."

Misa made a face at the vocal distorter and I sighed.

"Or I could just teach you to fuck up your voice with some software. Would you like that instead?"

Misa smiled sheepishly, "That would probably be better. Im not that good at all this computer stuff."

I smiled slightly and rolled my eyes, starting up the laptop and then my sound editing software. After that I testing the mic and then sat back.

"Right its ready to go. Now when you want to record you just hit the red dot here," I scrolled over to the record button and pressed it, "and then whatever you say will be downloaded straight into the software." I clicked the button again and the audio file loaded up.

The next hour consisted of me trying to show Misa how to properly distort a voice and not have it sound like junk. She just didn't seem to get the concept that only changing the pitch of the voice wouldn't do anything for the horror effect of an occult video and I tried to reason with her but she stubbornly said that she could handle it and that it would be fine. I just sighed and let her play around with it because hey it wasn't my video and as far as I knew I wasn't even really involved in it at all. Sitting back I flipped open my cell phone to check the time. Six in the evening.

"Hey Misa?" "Hmmmmm?" "You hungry at all? Its pretty much dinner time."

Misa didn't respond for a few moments, absorbed by the computer before responding with a noncommittal noise. I nodded and stood.

"Right. I'm going to go out and grab something to eat, thinking pizza, is pizza okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, pizza is good" Misa said, only half paying attention.

I huffed and grabbed my keys and left simply muttering that I'd be back in a few, I doubt she heard me anyways. And with that I headed down the stairs and out towards the only pizza place in town that didn't make you pay an arm and a leg.

* * *

Misa was still staring at the computer screen when I got back, two small pizzas in hand. Though judging by the half naked men now covering my computers background and the giggles Misa was making she was done with the mic. Her giggles turned into full out snorts of laughter as she changed the background to some naked actor. I smiled before forcing a serious face and clearing my throat. Misa instantly looked over at me and attempted to chock down her laughter but only managed to make herself snort which caused her to fall into another fit of giggles.

"And so I assume you are done with the video. Or does having a naked guy on my screen help?" I wondered sarcastically, failing to keep the hard look on my face. Misa grinned .

"Didn't you know Rileigh?" Her face turned serious, "your computer is possessed. We must kill it with fire."

We stared at eachother, stone faced and scowling before Misa finally cracked and started laughing incessantly and I quickly dissolved into the same. I set down the pizza as we both calmed down into soft giggled and gasps. Misa grabbed one of the boxes and opened it, made a face at the contents and then shoved it into my hands.

"That one is definitely yours." She said grabbing the other and flipping it open, making a pleased noise as she pulled put a slice of cheese pizza. I grabbed at my own cheese and mushroom one and we ate in relative silence. During which I pulled up the video editor and turned on Misa's prank video about some ghost walking though a park or something.

"Did you render it?" I asked glancing over at her from the video. She nodded.

"Yeah, and I already put them on these tapes." She held up a few tapes and I smiled. She was learning fast.

"So are you going to drop those off in the post box tomorrow?"

"Actually," she started, looking away nervously, "I was wondering if you could send them out for me. I'm leaving really early and I don't think I'll have the time to do it myself."

I gave her a weird look because honestly she had no need to be nervous about such a request. I mean it would literally only take a few minutes out of my time and its not like it was dangerous to do or anything. A weird feeling welled up in my gut._ What if she was lying to me? What if she was doing something really bad or if this was illegal and she didn't want it to be traced to her?_ The feeling grew more and more intense and then she looked up at me with her large brown eyes and I clamped down those feelings and thoughts and forced a smile onto my face. I was being paranoid. I had always been this way, worrying about "nothing", believing in things that weren't "real". Misa was the first person to even get past all that and my eccentricities and here I was judging her and being worried that her of all people would bring me harm.

Reaching out I grabbed her shoulder and smiled warmly at her, my best friend.

"Misa, its a freaking occult tape, not a anthrax bomb or something. Of course I can mail it for you."

Misa smiled and hugged me, yelling a hundred thanks into my ear as she squeezed the life out of me. I didn't get to see the guilt in her eyes.

Fifteen hours later Misa was gone and the tapes were sealed and sent to Misa's "friend" in Tokyo.

Two days later my quiet, normal, peaceful existence came to a screeching halt and then fell apart in front of me.


	2. They Say an End Can Be a Start

**Authors note**: Hello Everyone and look I actually made a second chapter! Be amazed, be very amazed.

Thank you for the reviews/faves/follows, I will take the constructive criticism into account and hopefully there will be less grammatical errors from now on as I am actually editing these during the day instead of at four in the morning when I write them.

Still I'd love to continue hearing from you and getting your thoughts on the story, as always it makes my day :)

Thank you to everyone!

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. If I did I probably would be laughing my as off right now and screaming how amazing I am.

* * *

Old lady Yukiko sat in front of the television, slowly sipping at her cup of hot tea. It was April 18th and she had gotten sick earlier in the week, causing me to take on the task of helping her around the house. I didn't mind though, and she certainly didn't ask. It was just something I felt compelled to do, after all she was one of the few people that actively spoke to me on a regular basis. Misa had told me that anyone who was able to put up with me that much should probably be given an award, but I don't know what type of award old lady Yukiko would want so helping her around the house seemed like a good alternative.

Re-adjusting the scarf around my neck I grabbed the lunch I made for old lady Yukiko's and I and brought it over to the television , gently setting it down before seating myself. Old lady Yukiko hummed in appreciation before reaching toward one of the bowls of soup. I picked at my own lunch, disinterested. Old lady Yukiko took a long sip of soup before turning to me.

"Rileigh, dear, are you feeling well?" She asked softly in only the way that the elderly seemed able to.

I sat for a moment, contemplating the question.

"I... I'm fine." I mumbled and stared at the television. Some stupid gossip show talking about idols and how they have an exciting segment coming up next. Sakura T.V. Was the worst.

"Now don't lie to me Missy." Old lady Yukiko tsked softly, "You've barely left your apartment all week. Have you been taking your medication?"

I stilled for a moment before sighing softly.

"No. I don't like it, it makes my head feel all fuzzy and I can't think or stare at the computer. It makes me feel sick and it doesn't help me much it just makes me feel less nervous and its just…. Useless." I babbled before focusing back on my soup.

Old lady Yukiko huffed for a moment before placing her hand on my arm, which I instinctively jerked away from. I didn't like being touched, with few exceptions. I blame the fact that someone could bug you during the few seconds of contact, or what if they were ESPers and could read my mind or something from the touch. No I didn't like being touched usually. But I shot her an apologetic look anyways because its not like she would do anything to harm me, Old lady Yukiko was a good old lady. Old people were safe people.

She withdrew her hand and grabbed her tea instead, giving me a soft, forgiving smile.

"Rileigh," she said, "you need to tell your doctor about that. You need the medicine."

I frowned and looked away because she was kind of right but kind of not because I could work without the meds, I could, but it wasn't easy. I didn't respond to her but she probably didn't mind and we turned back to the television right as their "special announcement" aired.

"Ladies and gentlemen, viewers alike, we received a number of tapes with details yet unknown except instructions when to air then by someone claiming to be Kira. If we do not air these tapes the message stated that we would be killed immediately. In other words, we are being held hostage by Kira and have no choice but to air these videos. These videos are not a hoax or for purpose of sensationalism..."

"Oh my. How dreadful" old lady Yukiko cooed in interest as she beamed at the television, excitement curling onto her face.

The exact opposite was happening to me, as my feelings of dread suddenly started to claw its way back up into every particle of my being. He said tapes. _Tapes, tapes, tapes, tapes, tapes._ Misa and I made tapes and I thought she was doing something but this is crazy and it **CAN'T** be her, how could I be suspecting Misa, but there are tapes! My internal ramble was cut off as the announcement, some of which I had missed in the haze of increasing panic, continued.

"... We have not viewed this video ourselves, but Kira's instructions state that it foretells yet another death, and it also contains a message to people all over the world. The time is 5:59 P.M. You are now going to see the Kira video."

The screen cut to black before crackling to white and hazy letters appeared on the television. Old-English type spelled out, crackling, KIRA on the screen as the buzz of a cheap microphone dissolved into the background and a singular, distorted line froze my being.

"I am Kira"

Hello Kira, I'm Rileigh and I'm about to puke.

"If this video is aired exactly at 5:59 P.M. on April 18th, it is now 5:59 and 38, 39, 40 seconds... Please switch channels to Taiyo TV. The news anchor, Mr. Kazuhiko Hibima will die of a heart attack at precisely 6 P.M."

Old lady Yukiko switched the channels before I even could register her grabbing the remote. On screen Kazuhiko Hibima was dead and the channel blinked off and onto a screen the read that there were "Technical Difficulties". Old lady Yukiko switched back to Sakura TV right as "Kira" was announcing their crimes.

I couldn't breathe. It hit me and knocked the breath out of me because for once I wasn't just being "paranoid" or "crazy" because it all made sense. That was my vocal program, I could hear it, that stupid trick there you just multiply the audio once or twice then change both of the audio tracks pitches. The microphone wasn't the best because I wouldn't let Misa use my nice one, it was too nice for an amateur, and that video. She had the video done before she even came to me. The nail on the proverbial coffin was Sakura TV itself, her "friend" Sakura. I felt like screaming, my brain was felt like someone had dunked it into acid and I felt myself almost hyperventilating.

"Rileigh? Dear are you well?" Old lady Yukiko asked, looking at me with a worried stare.

I shook my head and stood, I needed to be in my apartment, it was safe, I wasn't safe.

"I-I'm feeling ill, so sick and gross and nauseous I need to go now, right now." I managed to blurt out before pivoting and rushing out of the apartment and into my own.

_Safe, safe, safe, but it still wasn't safe._ I locked the door and pulled one of the shelves in front of it, then curled up on my futon and changed the television to Sakura TV, and booted up my computer to show the news. Sakura TV continued with it's wretched broadcast, the news was showing the front of the station, where an officer now laid dead. He was being carried off by some paramedics and it was all my fault. I knew something was wrong, I knew it. The stupid recorded message blathered on in the background, staring at me, which it probably was. I gripped my scarf tightly and pulled it harder around my neck. It was all my fault. But I couldn't stop watching. it was like a train wreck or a shooting or a high speed chase where you want to look away but you have to keep watching, and watching.

Then a truck drove through the front of the station, and all hell broke loose. The Kira video blathered on one end and the news anchor was loudly exclaiming about their lack of knowledge on the situation and the obvious fact that a fucking truck just drove into the building! I shut off my television and focused on the news, grabbing my sheets and blankets and curling them around me like a protective shield. Not like it would help but hey maybe it would.

Someone must be pulling strings like crazy because in almost no time at all a barrier was made around the entrance of the station. I found myself nervously choking on laughter because hey it looks like the governments all seeing eyes were good for something, like stopping ridiculous murderer tapes. That you helped make. And any joy was yet again replaced by dread as the newscaster signed off, the situation having been resolved.

I just curled into myself as the news report shifted and continued, and wept.

* * *

April 23rd

"Ryuzaki," Aizawa announced, walking into the hotel room, "We ran the fingerprints and hair through our database to see if we could find anything, just to make sure."

L didn't even glance up to give notice to the information, focusing his all onto the stack on sugar cubes in front of him. After adding one more cube to the tower and watching it sway precariously, he responded.

"What did you find?"

"Both the hairs and the finger prints belonged to a foreigner named Rileigh Patterson who, in fact, is living in Kyoto on a foreign exchange scholarship." Aizawa said, handing a file with the small amount of information he could find on her to L. L took the file between two fingers and opened it on the table in front of him, glancing over the contents, bringing his thumb to his lips.

After a few minutes of contemplation he spoke.

"We'll bring her in for questioning." He said, pushing the file to the side.

* * *

Old Lady Yukiko was at one point in time a young lady, as amazing as that seemed to her eccentric neighbor. She had seen the war start as a child and climax in her teens, she knew a assault rifle from a hunting one and a liar from an honest man. So when her strange neighbor began to act weirder than usual, she didn't bat an eye. After all, the girl was quite sick and always had a paranoid streak a mile wide. The kid couldn't lie if her life depended on it, often rambling on and on about things that. It didn't help that she never seemed to socialize with anyone outside of that loud blonde bamboo and herself. So when Old Lady Yukiko was interrupted from her daily soaps by a loud ruckus next door, she immediately stood and marched over there to check on Rileigh.

What she ended up encroaching on was definitely not what she expected. The door was open and a few men with helmets on were carrying her out of the apartment. Old Lady Yukiko felt hot rage fill her as she marched over to the men.

"Excuse me Gentlemen I believe that you have no right to be removing that woman from her home." She stated, throwing a swift glare at the men.

The man closest to her let out a sputtered comment that she couldn't even understand before another told the men to take Rileigh to the truck and approached her. Old Lady Yukiko squared herself and stood up as tall as her 4"9' stature would let her.

"Miss-" the approaching man started before promptly being cut off.

"Don't you Miss me! That girl has done nothing wrong and she surely doesn't deserve being carried out of her own home like some type of criminal!" Old Lady Yukiko spat at him.

The man paused before raising his hands lightly as if to indicate that he wasn't in for a confrontation.

"Miss", he said with a sigh, "we are not going to harm her, it is for her own good. Ms. Patterson is required by the government to take her medicine at all times and according to some detail in the area she hasn't been doing so. She is a danger to herself and those around her so we are simply taking her in until we can get the issue sorted out."

Old Lady Yukiko glared at the man and scowled. He was lying, she knew it. It was there in the man he shifted as he talked and in the inflections of his voice and she knew that something was going on that involved her wonderfully strange neighbor. But what could she do about it? The tone he used was one of obvious authority, most likely a cop of some type. She wouldn't be able to do anything, especially if these men were actually working for the government.

With a huff she backed down and spun on her heel, heading towards her apartment.

"Then I'll be expecting a call as soon as the situation is resolved." She made sure there was no room for questions in her voice.

Reaching the door she turned back to the two men and sent them one more withering glare as the original man was attempting to sputter out some reason why that wouldn't be possible.

"If not you will have more problems on your hands then that girl could ever muster." She spat before entering her home and shutting the door without waiting for a response.

Old Lady Yukiko sighed as she hobbled over to her chair and sank into it, staring at the tv for a moment before closing her eyes and rubbing them with a soft groan.

"Rileigh, Rileigh, Rileigh. What on Earth have you done?"

* * *

**Reply to Reviews**:

Grand Theft Autumn: Thank you very much for the constructive criticism. I had been editing the chapter right after I had wrote it at like four in the morning and now I promise to edit them when I am fully awake so hopefully I won't be screwing up grammatically so much now. I hope you continue to like the story as much as I enjoy making it up.

Guest: Thank you for the positive support man! I'm happy you love Rileigh because writing mentally unstable characters is fun and shes a blast to write! As for her name I actually thought that Rileigh was the common spelling. The only person with the same name that I know spells hers Ryleigh so I guess I didn't know it was weird? Anyways its a good idea, maybe the weird spelling will cause some fun later on ;)

Coriander: Thanks for the positive note! And look, here's an update!


	3. When I Wake Up I'm Afraid

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Death Note, I'm no Mangaka and if I was everyone would have to suffer through my horrendous ability to keep a schedule. So be happy.

* * *

_It was peaceful in the garden with the soft humming of Oma Ulrika and the faint smell of lavender and cotton hanging in the air. I was staring down at the ground where a beautiful lily grew. Spider lilies. The long stems reached towards the sky like a child reaching for the clouds, and I find myself asking,_

_"Oma, why are the leaves at the bottom of the stem? Shouldn't they go all the way up?" _

_Oma Ulrika chuckled softly as she moved over to me with her frail, worn body and took my small hands in her thin, calloused ones. She smelled of butter milk and tobacco. _

_"There's a legend that says there were once two people who feel deeply in love but couldn't be together, for the gods forbade it. Though the gods said it wasn't to be they decided that they would rather be together then have the favor of the gods, and so they decided they would be joined in death, and killed themselves. The gods wouldn't have this, and so they reincarnated the two lovers as a single flower, but there was a twist, the boy was to become the leaves who would be forever at the ground, and the girl was to be fated to forever reach towards the sky. Thus though the two would always be connected yet they could never be together and would be forced to grow apart." She said. _

_I looked back down at the flower, reaching up far past me into the heavens and the leaves stuck forever cradling the earth. _

_I looked up at Oma Ulrika__._

_"I don't like that story."_

* * *

There was no light or sounds when I awoke. My breaths came out quietly, quickly, and each inhale made my chest twist a little tighter. Bound, bound, bound, like Hannibal the cannibal on a rig. I wouldn't make a sound though because they were watching, I could feel their eyes boring into me like a thousand needles. I shifted slightly, trying to find a way to feel less trapped but it was so dark and quiet and I almost cried in relief when a speaker came on and began to speak.

"Miss. Patterson," It stated in a mechanical voice that sent shivers down my spine. It was them. "Are you aware why you are being held here?"

I could be here for many reasons. I could of caught onto their plan, those conspiracies might of been heard finally and the people up top might of ordered silence. It could be aliens getting into my mind and getting ready to implant me with some cyberpunk device.

"I assure you none of the things you just listed were true." The thing bluntly said.

Was it a mind reader too? Oh, no, I had just said all that aloud. Oops.

"Please allow me to inform you that you are currently being detained under suspicion of being the second Kira." It said with something akin to apathy.

I wanted to scream, but instead i just rocked my head the little ways I could and took a few shuddering breaths. I couldn't feel my eyes.

"I'm not it." I stated, amazed at how level my tone was for a few moments before deciding that was probably done by scientists earlier so I could no longer feel emotion. Those bastards.

"We have found your DNA on the packaging for the tapes sent to Sakura TV. Do not play stupid." It droned.

I rocked some more before biting my lip because I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.

"They were a friends!" I croaked out

"And who was this friend?" It asked, the robotic tone devoid of any humanity.

Misa, Misa, Misa. My perfect, beautiful friend who I loved and trusted. I couldn't say it. Maybe I was over reacting as usual. **But I knew I wasn't.** Maybe she is innocent and didn't leave me to take blame. **But I knew she did**. I hurt, and it hurt, and it hurt and cut me deep down inside and I cried to myself.

The voice didn't come back on for a long time.

* * *

_I didn't like the kids in my school. They would stare and make comments and whisper behind my back. They would tape signs to my desk and write on my locker and the teachers wouldn't bat an eye because hey I was that girl who was strange and a freak so why not. _

_She wasn't like that. Sure she was petty, talking about boys and clothes and parties she wanted to go to. She dyed her hair bleach blonde in ninth grade because someone said that the black hair made her look like that girl from the ring. But she didn't do mean things. And sometimes when the halls were empty and I was alone trying to scrub off the marks on my locker she would come over and smile, cracking a joke about how my locker was always messy, and help. _

_"Rileigh," she'd say, "just keep your head up. There are plenty of people way worse __than__ you in this school, and you wouldn't be so bad if you just put on some make up and stopped talking about aliens and stuff."_

_I'd smile and she'd laugh and then tell me about the boy she was dating at the time or what she did over the weekend. Everyone liked her, she was something soft and beautiful on this earth. _

_Misa would smile over at me and say nice things to me that even my parents had started to forget how to say. She eventually chased away the bullies and the torments and replaced it with silence. _

_And for that I would be forever grateful._

* * *

The minutes molded into hours which blurred into days and the world just began to slip by on a stream on nothing. The only passage of time was marked by the mechanical voice occasionally speaking out, informing me of how many days had slipped through my grasp. It didn't matter though, I couldn't find it in me to speak, sometimes I couldn't eat and sometimes I would bite my lip hard just to know that I existed and I was alive, though sometimes I still doubted that.

The voice hadn't talked in today, yesterday, whatever the moment I was in. It had been silent and in the silence I heard a thousand whispers telling me to speak. To open my mouth and scream. The dark in my vision swam and formed Old Lady Yukiko smiling at me like I mattered, and my parents fearful glances as they stared into the unknown.

I wanted to speak but Misa kept whispering the loudest. All she had done for me, all I owed, how she was the only one nice to me and the only one that understood and I was petrified to say anything.

The voice came on and talked.

I didn't respond.

* * *

_Japan was weird and beautiful and scary, there were hundreds of people __milling__ about and the college was so big I wanted to scream. I clutched my pills closer to my chest and walked up the stairwell to my apartment. Second building, Second floor, apartment 413. _

_I froze at the top of the stairwell, for a woman was standing in front of my apartment, facing out towards the road, tending to a small basket of flowers that hung there. They were beautiful small white flowers on bristly stems._

_And I found myself wondering aloud, "What are those little ones?"_

_The old woman looked up at me and her face crinkled into a smile, a small twinkle in her eyes. _

_"That's Edelweiss, a mountain flower." She replied in a slow, steady voice._

_"But if it's a mountain flower then how'd you get it into that pot?" I found myself asking, curiosity overriding the sharp panic as the woman looked me up and down._

_The then shot me a strange look, her eyes not quite glaring and her mouth p__urse__d._

_"Are you daft child?" She asked, somehow managing to keep her tone soft but firm._

_I cringed slightly and looked away as the woman sighed to herself._

_"The flower doesn't need to grow on a mountain." She said stiffly_

_"Well then," I said, "it's not much of a mountain flower then is it?"_

_The woman stared for a moment more before she brightened up noticeably and laughed as if I had told a joke. She wiped her wrinkled hands on her dress then held one out to me._

_"I'm Amaka Yukiko, and I believe that we will be neighbors." She stated in a light voice._

_I stared at her hand then back at her face before sucking it up and giving it a quick, jerky shake._

_"Rileigh Patterson." I replied as I removed my hand from her grasp as fast as I had placed it there. I smiled internally because I was able to shake her hand, after all it's not like old people can harm you. Old people are safe._

* * *

Misa kept talking to me for hours and hours. Her face what everywhere in the dark and even when I closed my eyes she kept telling me how I owed her, **even though I didn't**, and how I was a part of this, **it was an accident**. Misa wasn't Misa but was Misa, I concluded.

My skin crawled constantly at being looked at, my muscles constantly tense and wound d up, up, up like a spring ready to pop. I hadn't slept since I got here, I was too wired, my body too prepared to go, go ,go. How long had it been? More than days, had it been Weeks? Months? Years? What if Old Lady Yukiko had fallen ill again and no one was there to help her? What if she had died?

If she was dead I'd hate Misa forever, I decided.

I'd hate her and the mechanical voice.

I'd hate me.

I felt my hand twitch under the impulse to pick at something but I couldn't move it and it buzzed from inactivity. I chewed my lips instead, tasting iron almost immediately that's to the raw tissue already chewed away there. I needed to get out, out, out. I could feel my brain burning and I Misa kept talking on and on and every iota of my body felt like someone had put an electric charge through it and I couldn't even tell if it was the mechanical voice doing that, or Misa, or the aliens but I just wanted out, out, out before my body fell apart so I screamed. I screamed at the mechanical voice. I needed Misa to get out of my head, and for my body to stop spazzing and for my brain to turn off and for my meds and that I'd do anything for silence inside on myself.

The voice was silent then came on with a simply, "Very well then".

And a few minutes later there was someone in the room and there were pills at my mouth and water and I almost didn't want to take them because they could be trackers, or poison, but then the person said in the same slow, soft tone that only old people can do,

"Be careful not to choke."

I made extra sure. And Misa slowly faded out of my head and my body ceased to burn and twitch as the mechanical voice asked me all about the tapes and Misa, he must of been a mind reader, and all other sorts of things like the silence and the dark and something about something schizotypal and that was the only one I didn't know.

I answered every question he gave me, and then I finally fell asleep.

* * *

**Authors Note**: Hey sorry for the lack of updating I had finals then my winter break was pretty crammed between going between two states and seeing a few people for the first time in like six months. So yeah. Happy New Year and Holidays to everyone, I hope 2014 treats you well!

I start school on Monday and I can't say I'm looking foreword to it. Oh well, hopefully expect more updates though as school never seems to keep me busy enough.


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